The Prowess of McGonagall
by josh1996.jl
Summary: This is the story of McGonagall prior to and leading up to the First Wizarding War as she navigates the MOM politics, and the worries we all have in our post-education lives. Mostly Canon Drama, Romance, Adventure Rated M
1. Chapter 1

**The Prowess of McGonagall**

 **Disclaimer:** These characters are wholly owned by J. K. Rowling, and thus I have no claim to them. Please enjoy, review, and share.

Authors Note: This story is going to be mostly canon. I am sorry if some chapters are short, such as this first one. I am still planning the late stages thus do not want to add too much in the early stages. My goal is not to have extremely long chapters, as I personally enjoy slightly shorter ones. If you have not guessed already, this is the story of McGonagall prior to the first war…

Backstory: " _And all along the corridor the statues and suits of armour jumped down from their plinths, and from the echoing crashes from the floors above and below, Harry knew that their fellows throughout the castle had done the same... Cheering and yelling, the horde of moving statues stampeded past Harry; some of them smaller, others larger than life. There were animals too, and the clanking suits of armour brandished swords and spiked balls on chains._ " (HPDH)

McGonagall stared at Harry, "Go Potter! Find what you need before it's too late!"

She closed her eyes and thought back to a time when she had yelled the same words at a young Lily Potter. In these seconds her mind exploded in memory - having never removed them such as Dumbledore did in his life. They crashed over her, cascading to a starting point. All in the blink of an eye.

Chapter One

Minerva blinked slowly as her eyes wandered over the horizon from her hometown's sea wall in Caithness and looked at the barely perceptible mountaintops – her eyes scouring for the mountain that contained her home the past 7 years. Naturally, being over 150 miles to her south there was no way she could see it, but it still was worth looking. She turned back to walk home, unable to apparate because there were several muggles walking around. She hated this. After school she took two weeks for herself and joined some friends on a trip to France, in a large wizarding city. There you could apparate from shop to hotel, her favorite part was flying over the local mountain range.

Her disdain for the muggles came from a lack of knowing much about them. All they knew about her is that she went to a boarding school in the south, name undisclosed. All she knew about them was that they deplored anything abnormal or out of the ordinary especially if something ripped them from their day to day droll. She didn't hate them personally, in fact she had a slight moment of pity for them a few years back. A car accident had killed a muggle boy and his mother. Had the town access to magic, like the city she visited, the boy and his mother could have flown home, a much safer form of travel she concluded. She stepped up to the door of her home and walked inside. She saw her briefcase by the door and gave a slight sigh.

"Mini! Have you packed _everything_ you will need in London" cried out her mother, Isobel. The rather thin woman came out of the drawing room and held her hand on her hips.

"Yes mum and you know I don't like that you keep asking! It is packed and ready." she exclaimed. Her mother just looked dewy eyed and gave her a huge hug for her stature. Her father walked in smoking a pipe. Silently Minerva casted a breeze around herself and her mother to rid them of the smell.

"When is your train leaving Minerva?" Her father asked. He preferred that no one say words like apparate. The reason stemmed from when he discovered his wife was a witch. Only revealed to him several years and one child later.

"Train? I'm-" She was cut off, and once again, no matter what, her father only wanted to hear 'normal' muggle words.

"Please - I don't want, just pretend OK?" her father pleaded for some normalcy. In fact he had already told several members of his congregation that Minerva was going to the London School of Business to further her education before going into a banking profession. It was a longshot, but the normal people of Caithness gobbled it up.

"Yes father… 7 o'clock."

She didn't want to press him too hard, but at least accepting she was going to apparate to London and not really force her to take a train there! Minerva simply waited until he left the room so she could talk to her mum about these things alone. When he left Minerva took her mother's hands and spoke gently to her. Minerva really wished that her mother could accompany her.

"If there is ever a chance you could visit-" She was cut off.

"No Mini, your father will not let me leave while the church is looking for a new Bishop to lead the county. But he will let me brew potions in the attic, so if you could send me some of these" She handed Minerva a roll of parchment with, she assumed, ingredients. "Mail them by owl to my sister, she will come by in the next few weeks to visit your brothers."

It was a slight surprise that her mother was ' _allowed_ ' to brew potions, it was the right of a witch to do such things. Sadly, there was no changing her father mind about how normal witches and wizards were.

"Yes mum, anything else before I leave?"

"I don't believe so - wait, are your things packed?"

"Yes they are in my briefcase, with an Extension Charm so I could fit my broom"

"You know as well as I you cannot fly in London! Why not leave it for Malcom, he can join the Quidditch team!"

"I honestly had not thought of that!" She unclicked the case and withdrew a boom, handing it to her mother she warned her brother in the other room, "Not a scratch Mal, do you hear me?" He ran in gave her a huge hug and promised.

"I am late!" She gave her family a kiss each and walked out to the back garden. There she reached her mum's small greenhouse and turned on the spot.

Minerva opened her eyes and saw she was several steps away from a phone booth. She walk towards it and stepped inside. The booth, she knew, would transfer her from ground level to the Atrium on floor B8. Minerva dials 62442 on the telephone, and it lowers down to the M.O.M, hopefully in time for her 7:30 job interview. Minerva wandered to herself as she was lowered over a huge crowd if working for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement _truly_ was her aspiration. It seems such a waste of her talents to sit behind a desk every day.

She reached the floor of the atrium and walked firmly through the crowd. To her left and right Ministry officials popping in to her left and right. She smiled briefly to herself, but then it seemed short lived as she heard a disgusting childish giggle. _Surely not!_

"McGonagall!" barked out Dolores Umbridge, "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Umbridge, I happen to have graduated from Hogwarts. You are on what, your 7th year?"

"I am, but I am also headed to an interview at the DMLE, for an internship… You look displeased"

"I believe - we have the same interview." As much as it pained her, it looked like Dolores was truly pained to see this occurring.

"Well may the best candidate win?" She picked up her pace to the elevators and both were whisked away. Moments later they arrived at the DMLE section of the M.O.M.

A secretary wordlessly hushed them and motioned to have the young witches sit and wait. Dolores opened her mouth and the woman just shushed her. After about 10 minutes the secretary spoke.

"Mr. Virum will be with you shortly Ms. McGonagall."

Minerva thanked her, and right after a dashing young man stepped of the office behind her. It must have been Mr. Virum.

"Ms. Minerva l! So good to have you here, if you don't mind I and going to interview Dolores first, it will not take long and then we can get on with yours!" He beamed at her, and then continued, "Dolores, as you know, Minerva has penned a wonderful paper on Transfiguration! She managed to win the Transfiguration Today 'Most Promising Newcomer award'."

"I know" Dolores said curtly. She then giggled like a poisonous toad and amended her statement, "I honestly thought they only gave these awards to pure-bloods."

The secretary glared at her, Mr. Virum looked aghast, and Minerva just shook her head. Dolores sat back in her chair and mumbled something about not being told. Dolorous then stood up and walked to his office door. She was several heads shorter than him yet still seemed to have scared him from smiling again. After the door closed the secretary spoke to her.

"My name is Amelia Bones, welcome."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **Disclaimer:** These characters are wholly owned by J. K. Rowling, and thus I have no claim to them. Please enjoy, review, and share.

Authors Note: This story is mostly canon, and with the help of reviewers in addition to a beta (PM for details) I can assure you, the reader; a pure reading experience. I would also like to attain assistance in her history in relation to the other characters outside what exists in canon. I am still planning the late stages, and you have a chance to be a part of this. Apologies for the time span between the last chapter. Follow this story so you know when it the next is out.

At some point McGonagall assumed that Ms. Bones would speak. For some reason she didn't while Dolores was in the room. After her introduction she was lost for what to actually say. They had just had a rather odd exchange, Dolores had just put all half-bloods down, saying essentially not only are Muggleborne less powerful or capable then pure-bloods but also the largest population segment of the wizarding community.

"I am guessing you know who I am given that shocking exchange…" Minerva said tentatively. Ms. Bones simply shook her head up in a nod like fashion, then she waved her wand closing the door and blinds in one swoop. The door clicked shut and Amelia seemed to relax.

"The ministry is out of hand in these views, seemingly shared by that girl. They are relying on this pure-blood bubble. As you know, the Prophet has been writing about this for months leading up to you class's graduation, 'the largest pureblood class ever'."

She took a breath and suddenly Minerva felt very strange. Why was Ms. Bones discussing this here and right before a very important interview? Minerva knew that nearly all of her pure-blood counterparts had already pursued a job at the M.O.M. – and that there were few jobs left for herself and zero left for muggleborne to even hope to hold. What the Prophet hasn't reported is that 99% of all muggleborne graduates, having found not prospects in the wizarding world, have left the community to pursue muggle jobs. They have found great success in the non-magical world too, attaining massive amounts of money in financial markets, strangely. Minerva decided it best to simply point out the question – why speak this way?

"Why are you telling me this – I am a half-blood, and up for one of the last job postings in the M.O.M." Minerva forced out of her mouth, hoping to not offend her.

"Well you have the job, Minerva. We sent you an owl this morning, but I assume you didn't receive it. It entailed your job duties, and a rather personal note from the DMLE about what we hope to gain from having you onboard with us." She queried Minerva's reaction. Minerva was taken aback. Honestly, the nerve of them to give her a job before an interview, with no negotiations about pay or time off.

Ms. Bones then launched further on, "I am guessing that you didn't receive the letter. Therefore, I will tell you what we wrote. Firstly, pureblood children will be born at a higher rate than normal. This will cause a housing boom in wizarding markets, following this we will see a rise in wizarding Exodus, meaning many who cannot afford a home will seclude, or rather build their own homes in the middle of large land allotments. The pureblood families are very wealthy. These homes will be untraceable, as many of the homes that purebloods live in are. You will personally see that undetectable charms are lifted, such that our government can stay more aware, some of the homes are not on land they do not personally own. Violation of such is laws that are being passed in the next week by the Wizengamot."

"I am not sure that I really understand, we don't pay taxes, and this seems like a job for Aurors to do."

That was what troubled her the most; a law that forbids any wizard from concealing themselves from other would seem to be welcome. Her own home was set up this way, hence the letter not arriving. Emilia Bones was prepared for this question.

"Should these families seclude themselves then they will not likely release control to the inevitable growth in half-bloods that will be born after the purebloods gain power." Ms. Bones took a breath. "In fact, the whole government will be overrun by purebloods entirely, with no oversight as to what occurs to the wellbeing of muggleborne or half-bloods. It has been proposed already that the government takeover education entirely."

It was at this moment the door unclicked and the blinds popped up, causing Minerva and Bones to jump.

"That means Mr. Virum is done with his interview! We really should not talk about this in front of Dolores." Ms. Bones exclaimed. She motioned for Minerva to stand. At the next moment a smiling Dolores stepped out of the room.

"Well Minerva, I got the job. So if you would like I can accompany you to the lifts." Dolores said, finishing with her annoying giggle. She was entirely unaware of McGonagall's situation.

"Actually, I too have received my position. We will see you at 8 o'clock Monday morning. Have a nice day. Ms. Bones after my meeting with Mr. Virum I would like to discuss using Dolores as filer for my reports?"

"A splendid idea! Capital – we were just discussing this were we not Ms. Umbridge?" galloped Mr. Virum. Umbridge was less than pleased, her toad like face looking ever more like a red tomato. She instead simply nodded before storming out of the door. Minerva couldn't help but giggle.

"Heavens above! Thought she might have exploded! Mr. Virum, you will need to keep an eye out on her." Minerva stifled continuing her laughs.

"I am sure I can handle her, can't do any harm if you're behind a desk." Mr. Virum went further, "As for watching you, I have had my eyes on your talents since I got my promotion. You see I was a 7th year when you joined the Quidditch team!"

Minerva smiled "Well, as you know that dream has now died."

"You might have revived it with your stunning grades and stellar report - 'Ley Line and Transmutation Points – When the two are aligned' was the most transformative paper in the last half century!" He beamed at her, continuing on "To be sure, your job if to execute the laws being signed by the Minister today. You start on Monday at 6 A.M. sharp! Do not be late as Minister Wilhelmina Tuft absolutely hates that! Have a nice weekend, Ms. Bones please give Minerva her first paycheck, bye-bye." and he walked out of the door.

"Here you are, Minerva. I am headed to the Leaky Cauldron for a pint. If you would like to come" offered Emilia.

"I am sorry, but I need to go and open my flat, I have not had a chance today." Emilia offered a short nod as an understanding,

"Another night then." She motioned for Minerva to walk through the door.

Minerva walked to the Liverpool underground station. As she looked at the map she noticed out of the corner of her eye a wizard. His bright pink hat not very well blinding in with the business suites. She decided to follow him, and walked not too far behind. As he rounded the corner Minerva realized there were not any muggles around. It was just her and this unknown wizard. He turned on the spot, and with a small pop disappeared. Taking the chance that this was probably common, she did the same. When she opened her eyes she was facing the outside of her new apartment, and stepped through the door.


End file.
